"The city attorney has showed he cannot adequately represent me," Filner told members of the media last week following the court hearing. "...I think the standard is zealous representation, and I'm not going to get zealous representation by an attorney who already thinks my positions are illegal."

Council President Todd Gloria and Councilman Kevin Faulconer declined requests for an interview, but Councilwoman Marti Emerald said that the council simply wants to ensure that both the city and Filner have fair and adequate representation, free of conflicts given the differences of opinion between Filner and the council over the tourism marketing issue.

"The council is trying to keep a level playing field," Emerald said. "The council wants to make sure the mayor has representation, we have representation, and we don't have any conflicts."